Science Friction: Turn the force of friction into a force for good at SOS26.

The force of friction is all around us. It’s in customer journeys. In sales funnels. In the comments. Oh boy, the comments! But it isn’t all bad. In fact, as we’ll show you at State of Social ’26, it can be the best thing for you and your digital and social strategy. And there’s science to prove it.

Three science-backed ways to make friction a force for good.

At Optus Stadium on 25 & 26 August, we’ve invited marketing’s most prolific thinkers and doers to not only share how they manage and mitigate friction, but how they harness friction to power their digital and social marketing. Real-world experience. Verifiable case studies. All the data.

It’s going to be epic and, thanks to our No-recycled Content Guarantee, it’ll be 100% fresh. There’s no knowing what game-changing intel and insights you’ll have in your marketing arsenal on 27 August.

In the meantime, here are some classic bits of science-backed friction inspiration to get you thinking:

• The IKEA Effect. Research from 2012 proves that labour leads to love. Consumers place a 63% higher value on products they have a hand in creating. Could you use this form of intentional friction to convert passive window shoppers into engaged customers and even loyal advocates?
• The Paradox of Choice. Psychologist Barry Schwartz famously argued that while we crave choice, too much of it creates analysis paralysis. Take the famous jam study: reducing options from shelves full of 24 jam flavour variations down to just six increased purchases by a factor of 10. How could you remove this friction filter to boost your sales?
• Cognitive friction. Or ‘desirable difficulty’. It’s a neuroscientific memory-booster. When information is too easy, too frictionless, it becomes meh. It slides right out of the brain. Small amounts of resistance – even something as simple as a challenging headline – can force your customers to think and engage more deeply. Are you making things too easy (and forgettable) for customers? How could a little friction help?

When you start thinking about friction differently – as a force to be harnessed rather than feared – there’s no end of things you can do. And that’s what SOS26 is all about: thinking, then doing. So, if you haven’t already, grab your tax-deductible All Access pass. Quick, before the next price rise!